The U.S Army will deploy about 500 soldiers to Afghanistan for an assignment of up to nine months who will also serve as advisors to Afghan national security forces.

According to information released by the Army on Friday, the soldiers will be deployed later this winter to join the 10th Mountain Division at Bagram Airfield after completing a mission rehearsal exercise this month at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.

“Our nation’s Army continues to call upon Mountain soldiers to serve around theworld in places like Afghanistan due to their proven record of high standards, mission success and selfless service,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey L. Bannister, commander of the 10th Mountain Division, in a statement.

This comes after the NATO and U.S military commander in Afghanistan General John F. Campbell said that due to the ongoing situation in Afghanistan he seeks to keep as many U.S troops in Afghanistan as possible through 2016.

In a telephonic interview with USA TODAY from Kabul, Gen. John Campbell said that maintaining the current force of 9,800 U.S troops to train Afghan forces and conduct counter-terrorism raids is vital, and that the scheduled reduction to 5,500 by Jan. 1, 2017, should be put off as long as possible.

“My intent would be to keep as much as I could for as long as I could,” he said. “At some point it becomes physics. I’m going to have to get them out.”

“My job as commander on the ground is to continually make assessments,” Gen. Campbell added. “Every time I’ve gone to the president and said, ‘I need X,’ I’ve been very, very fortunate that he’s provided that. So he’s been very flexible. It’s actually been conditions based as we’ve gone forward.

“If I don’t believe that we can accomplish the train, advise and assist and the (counter-terrorism) missions, then I owe it to the senior leadership to come back and say, ‘Here’s what I need.’ If that’s more people, it’s more people.”

This comes as the Pentagon’s quarterly assessment of security in Afghanistan this month noted that in “the second half of 2015, the overall security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated with an increase in effective insurgent attacks and higher (Afghan security force) and Taliban casualties.”

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued a Christmas Day prayer that recent U.N.-backed peace agreements for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people, denouncing the "monstrous evil" and atrocities they have endured and praising the countries that have taken in their refugees.

Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Francis issued a plenary indulgence for Catholics in hopes of spreading the church's message of mercy in a world torn by war, poverty and extremist attacks. The sun-soaked St. Peter's Square was under heavy security, as it has been since the Nov. 13 Paris attacks by Islamic extremists that left 130 dead.

An indulgence is an ancient church tradition related to the forgiveness of sins. Francis announced it after delivering his annual "Urbi et Orbi (To the city and the world)" speech listing global hotspots and his prayers for an end to human suffering.

Francis referred to the "brutal acts of terrorism" that struck the French capital this year as well as attacks in Egypt's airspace, in Beirut, Mali and Tunisia. He denounced the ongoing conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine and issued consolation to Christians being persecuted for their faith in many parts of the planet.

"They are our martyrs of today," he said.

In an indirect reference to the Islamic State group, he said: "May the attention of the international community be unanimously directed to ending the atrocities which in those countries, as well as in Iraq, Libya, Yemen and sub-Saharan Africa, even now reap numerous victims, cause immense suffering and do not even spare the historical and cultural patrimony of entire peoples."

Pope Francis delivers his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and to the world) blessing from the …

Francis said he hoped the plenary indulgence he issued for this, his Holy Year of Mercy, would encourage the faithful "to welcome God's mercy in our lives, and be merciful with our brothers to make peace grow."

"Only God's mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil, at times monstrous evil, which selfishness spawns in our midst," he said.

Libya has been in a state of lawlessness since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown in 2011. Syria has seen a five-year war that has killed over 250,000 people and forced millions to flee the country. The surge of refugees flowing out of Syria to Europe has created a migration crisis for the entire continent.

"We pray to the Lord that the agreement reached in the United Nations may succeed in halting as quickly as possible the clash of arms in Syria and in remedying the extremely grave humanitarian situation of its suffering people," he said. "It is likewise urgent that the agreement on Libya be supported by all, so as to overcome the grave divisions and violence afflicting the country."

Francis praised both individuals and countries that have taken in refugees fleeing "inhuman conditions," saying their generosity had helped the newcomers "build a dignified future for themselves and for their dear ones, and to be integrated in the societies which receive them."

The report cited recent surveys showing that public confidence among Afghans in the country's security forces remained high, at 70 percent, but was down from 78 percent in March.

The Pentagon acknowledged steps by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government to address leadership challenges within the military, including moves to replace ineffective officers.

EXPLOITING VULNERABILITIES

The Taliban has also increased the number of effective attacks it has been able to wage by about 4 percent in the first 11 months of 2015 compared to the same period of last year. The number of effective attacks peaked at more than 1,000 in June and July.

"Insurgents are improving in their ability to find and exploit (Afghan forces') vulnerabilities, making the security situation still fragile in key areas and at risk of deterioration in other places," it said.

The report acknowledged a threat from Islamic State forces in Afghanistan, far from the Islamist militant group's stronghold in Iraq and Syria. Islamic State has seized pockets of terrain from the Taliban in Nangarhar province, it said.

In September, Islamic State attacked a U.N vehicle and, in a single day, struck 10 Afghan security force checkpoints in Nangarhar province, it noted.

"The group continues to recruit disaffected Taliban and formerly Taliban-aligned fighters, most notably the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan,